1854-O $3 AU58 NGC....

Description

Near-Mint 1854-O Three Dollar Gold

1854-O $3 AU58 NGC. It was just not to be: Although the U.S.
Mint introduced the three dollar gold denomination in 1854 and
struck it at three of the five mints then operating, the
denomination would never again see yearly mintages as high as the
first-year output. Between Philadelphia, Dahlonega, and New
Orleans, nearly 164,000 coins were struck, in ratios of roughly
84:1:15 out of 100. The San Francisco Mint was just getting up to
speed, having opened in April, and only in 1855 and for a few years
sporadically thereafter did it strike the denomination, the last,
in 1870, a unique single example. And after 1854, neither New
Orleans nor Dahlonega ever again produced the series.
Despite the small mintage of 24,000 O-mint coins, the issue today
is available for a price in all grades below Mint State, where
examples become elusive. This specimen offers good luster over
attractive greenish-gold surfaces, with only light field chatter
appearing on each side. A small planchet lamination appears between
the headdress and TA of STATES. NGC has certified only 18 pieces
finer (6/08). (Registry
values: N2998) (NGC ID# 25M5, PCGS# 7971)